Don’t ever let someone tell you otherwise—establishing a skincare routine is hard, especially when you’ve never needed one before. With the rise and fall of #Skintok on TikTok, there has been a lot of converging information about what’s the best thing you can do for your skin. Things like whether or not your skin needs to be dry when you use hyaluronic acid (btw it needs to be damp), if you should use a retinol, or how many AHA’s/BHA’s you can use at once, it can be hard to find good information for your skin.
But, let me be the one to tell you this: your skincare routine will be yours. No one else’s skincare routine will be exactly like yours, nor should you try to emulate someone else’s routine. Just as your fingerprints are unique to you, so will your skincare routine. You will have to try and test a lot of tips you hear from #Skintok, esthetician Twitter, and, but let me let you in on a little secret from someone who got her first pimple at 11, some tips are universal.
So if you’re trying to make a skincare routine for the very first time, please let me introduce you to the five fool-proof tips I have about skin. Each tip builds on the other, and therefore, I’ve ordered them from easiest to hardest. In this way, you don’t have to commit to everything in this article if you don’t want to. You can build and choose what’s best for your skin.
- Wash your face.
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I mean, yeah, it might seem like an obvious step in any skincare routine, but give me a second to explain. When I say wash your face, I mean to say, wash your face twice a day. And when I say wash your face twice a day, I mean, wash your face for at least 60 seconds, twice a day. According to licensed esthetician Nai (@labeautyologist on Twitter), spending any less time washing your face doesn’t allow for the ingredients in your cleanser to fully do their jobs. It might take a bit longer, but as someone who has been doing the #60secondrule for nearly five years, I vouch for it. In the morning, it cleanses my skin from all the leftover skincare I layered on the night before, and, depending on your skin type and how well it manages, you might be able to get away with washing your face with just water in the morning. At night, however, you need a cleanser.
- Wear Sunscreen.
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While I want to say wearing sunscreen is non-negotiable, it’s more negotiable than washing your face at night. So please only start to incorporate this step if you are able to commit to washing your face at night, because there’s nothing worse than sunscreen buildup on your skin. Even if you’re a melanin-blessed girlypop, you still need sunscreen. If you’re not getting skin cancer, you’re getting premature wrinkles, sun spots, age spots, and a whole lotta other bad stuff from the sun.
You’ll want to use a sunscreen that is at least SPF 30 with UV/UVB protection. You can choose either a chemical sunscreen (with Oxybenzone/Avobenzone/Octocrylene), or a mineral sunscreen (Zinc Oxide/Titanium Oxide), and there’s really no difference between the two, it just depends on what your skin tolerates the most.
Honestly, finding a sunscreen that you like is really rare, so I am going to plug the sunscreens I’ve heard nothing but good things about (and personally love): Black Girl Sunscreen SPF 30 ($15.99 at Target/Ulta), and EltaMD UV Daily Broad-Spectrum SPF 40 ($30.50 online only).
- Take off your makeup at night.
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This might be tied for #2, but for the love of your own skin, take your makeup off at night. I don’t just mean take your makeup off while you’re washing your face at night, I mean have a separate step for taking your makeup off at night, especially if you wear face makeup. The fact of the matter is, cleanser just isn’t that great. It can’t do it all, and you need an extra step to get all your makeup off.
You can do so with an oil cleanser, a makeup wipe (though these are generally bad for the environment), micellar water, or simply cleansing twice with your night cleanser (60 seconds for each round!!).
- Please use some form of moisturizer.
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Listen. I don’t care if you think you have the oiliest skin in the world, I need you to use some moisturizer. If your skin is oily, often it just means that your skin is dehydrated and is overcompensating with oil. I’d recommend starting with a lightweight moisturizer that has SPF in the morning, and a heavier, thicker cream for the evening.
Depending on how your skin reacts, you might want to use a heavier moisturizer + an oil in the morning (if you have drier skin), or use another lighter moisturizer if you find your skin is still overproducing oil.
- Incorporate one active.
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Here’s the fun stuff. I would argue that steps 1-4 have given you a rather solid, albeit simple skincare regimen. In this final, and slightly more complicated step, I want you to take some time to evaluate the state of your skin. Is it hyper-oily? Does your skin feel tight and dry? Do you have some hyperpigmentation you want to get rid of?
Depending on your answer, you should begin some research about adding a serum, night mask, or toner into your routine. Using an active can be a bit scary, so be sure to do it slowly and carefully.
Don’t worry if this intimidates you because in upcoming weeks, I’ll be explaining some actives you can incorporate in your skincare routine and how exactly to use them.